Fire and Frost
by burnyourheartaway
Summary: Loki's drunk enough to tell Tony he's a traveller from another dimension, a sorcerer, a Norse god. Tony's drunk enough to believe him.    Idea of how Loki and Tony might have formed a relationship before the Avengers movie. Loki/Tony, slash.
1. Prologue

A/N: I'm kind of a fan of Loki/Tony. This is my idea of how their storylines might have crossed and a relationship formed there, pre-Avengers movie. Starts with Iron Man storyline, then Iron Man 2 and parts of Thor overlap – liberties have been taken and gaps have been filled. Oh, you'll see as we go along. Looks like this is going to be a long one. Also – angst, because these are two characters full of issues.

- - - - -

Loki is young when he learns of the pathways, the hidden routes to other realms that negate the need for the Bifrӧst. Thor, older and _worthier_, is finally granted permission to travel the realms at will, sometimes alone but most often with Sif on their "adventures". Frigga tells Loki it is his age, nothing more, that restricts him to the relative safety of Asgard. Loki bites back his bitterness – nobody ever takes him seriously standing next to his big brother – and tries to believe her. He tells Thor he has no desire to go on their foolish quests anyway, he's busy, he's learning things, and people can do that when they aren't idiots. He spends his time in the deepest, murkiest corners of the most forgotten of libraries, immersing himself in mysterious looking scrolls and heavy-bound books buried in layers of dust. Amongst these, he finds the most intriguing of tomes; bound in a leather of jewel-purple, calligraphical and interspersed with hasty scribbles in multiple hands. Loki spends sleepless nights reading every word and realises he's found answers he didn't know he was looking for.

Of course, finding his way to Vanaheim without the Bifrӧst is not, it turns out, the same thing as hiding from Heimdall. Having traded for a few magical artefacts – trinkets at best, nothing more, Loki is eyeing a much more interesting stall when he looks up and sees his father storming towards him. Odin takes him home in a disgrace he has trouble feeling over the thrill of his (limited) success. He insists he shouldn't be punished because he has _no idea_ how he came to be in Vanaheim and since Heimdall has already admitted he didn't see the Prince travelling, his claim goes unchallenged.

After that initial success, Loki thoroughly researches the process of full concealment. Invisibility won't work on Heimdall, he knows from attempted tricks of his childhood. There are few mentions of hiding from the all-seeing even in the most promising of texts. Those he finds describe only failures. There's potential in a few methods, though, and Loki sees them as compatible, working on a way of overlapping two failures with a simple spell of his own creation. His solution makes him _feel_ different, but testing it is another matter.

Thor attempting to restrain his laughter is always an amusing sight, especially when combined with Odin's anger. Thor's face is bright red, his shoulders shaking while he bites his lip, as Odin demands that Heimdall explain how his most prized stallion came to have _extra legs_. Heimdall's surprise is genuine as he explains he saw nothing untoward. Thor mistakes Loki's smirk for supressed amusement rather than the triumph it truly expresses. Loki has won. The victory is small, as he uses his trips to other realms merely to trade for items Thor always seems to forget to bring back for him. It is the principle of the thing that pleases him; Thor is not as superior as he likes to believe.

Before long, Loki is joining his brother on the trips he takes to other realms, with his _new friends_ in addition to Sif. Their adventures are still foolish, chasing magical weapons or mythical beasts unlikely to exist in anything other than children's tales. More often than not, they find a kind of trouble they weren't expecting. The others, warriors born, will enjoy any kind of battle. Loki struggles to find most of their fights stimulating. More often than not, their opponents lack any kind of tactical knowledge or common sense, meaning Thor gets the upper hand within minutes. From time to time, they encounter bands of mercenaries, who are usually cunning and an even match for them. Loki truly enjoys those battles, using his mind rather than learned skills. He's often invaluable to them, when they face opponents with _brains_, but the others would never admit that. He always has a sense he doesn't fit in. The Warriors Three are suspicious of his magic and Thor could never understand his fondness for the staff and his throwing knives. Lady Sif always takes his side in such disputes, arguing time and again the need for grace and skilled restraint. In time, the arguments are less harsh, words more teasing than wounding.

He uses his particular method of hidden travelling only for his journeys to Midgard. Odin doesn't approve of too much interference in that realm any more, and it becomes somewhat of a guilty pleasure for him. Loki admires humans most of the time, can't look down on them the way others do. He certainly enjoys what they call _technology_ and spends large amounts of time there investigating televisions and computers and their various vehicles. Many of them are stupid, but he encounters enough idiocy in his own realm to know that's no indication of an entire species. He supposes the Warriors Three would find it hilarious if they knew he also slept with some of them, but he discovers that they are more than capable of keeping up with those they once deemed gods.

Loki befriends Tony Stark by accident. He's at some kind of ball or gala or some such event, all formal dress and champagne when Tony Stark happens to be flirting with the same girl he has his eye on. This becomes a ridiculous competition of wits and smug expressions until the poor girl hardly knows if the sexual tension is based around her or between the two men. She flees with another man and Tony feigns annoyance for a moment before flashing a grin and offering to fetch Loki a drink. Loki's mildly surprised when he actually returns, a drink in either hand. They're honestly intrigued by each other and by the end of the night they are making drunken pacts of friendship, laughing, hugging. Loki's drunk enough to tell Tony he's a traveller from another dimension, a sorcerer, a Norse god. Tony's drunk enough to believe him.


	2. One

Tony wakes with one of the worst headaches of his life (an achievement, when he thinks about it), feeling sick to his stomach. He's not entirely sure what, but _something_ is wrong with his vision and the world lurches horribly as he drags himself to his feet. He has no idea why he fell asleep on the stairs down to his workshop, but he has bigger problems. As he pads his way to the kitchen, desperately in need of his secret ultimate-hangover-cure, he realises his entire house is in chaos. There is mess _everywhere_ and he's not even entirely sure what a large proportion of it is, never mind where it came from. He's muttering to himself as he pours the toxic-looking healing fluid into a glass, unable to organise any kind of thought.

"Would you like me to play a highlight reel of last night's events, sir?" JARVIS sounds amused and, damnit, hangovers always make Tony regret giving his AI the capacity to be smug.

"No. Do something useful and stop Pepper coming here." Tony's throat burns a little as he talks, so he downs the rest of his disgusting cure in record time.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, sir. Ms Potts was here earlier and left in a state of what can only be described as exasperation. She requested you call her." Tony groans, shakes his head and sighs. He remembers being at a bar, meeting the crazy guy, the one claiming to be Mercury or Poseidon or… something. Loki. His name was Loki. Tony realises that he had fully believed that the guy was a god. Something about space, but the explanation is muddled in his mind. He's also fairly sure there were _two_ Lokis at one point. That doesn't make any sense, so it doesn't do to dwell on it.

Tony wanders carefully through the mess of his house, vaguely remembering explosions and a green glow. Whole chunks of the night are missing from his mind and the memories he has make no sense. There's a huge illogical blur to the whole thing that's driving him mad, because nothing is more annoying than not understanding something. Then again, he has this sense that he doesn't want to remember everything, that some things are better off forgotten. Maybe that part of him his right, because Tony certainly doesn't want to think that he might have missed his chance to, well, _fuck a god_. He doesn't want to think about the fact he knows that around 95% of Norse mythology is wrong. The implications of him thinking that a strange man he met at a party is really a god don't bear thinking about, though it's possible the chronic boredom and heavy drinking have finally started to affect his sanity.

Tony spends his day being lectured by Pepper, ignored by Obie and shouted at by Rhodey. JARVIS is barely concealing amusement every time Tony needs anything. Pepper must have hired a cleaning crew because when he finally emerges from his hiding place – um, workshop – in the middle of the night, everything is as it should be once more. He closes his eyes as he asks for that highlight reel after all, watching with little interest as he sees the kind of alcohol-fuelled scenes he would expect from any average night. His eyes widen slightly, with amazement or maybe dread as he watches Loki duplicate himself and laugh, challenging Tony to guess which Loki is real. In the blink of an eye, the duplicate disappears and Tony can't process what's happened, kind of offended by the impossibility he's been presented with. The explosions and green swirls he sees can't surprise him after that. He thinks – he needs to – he's too tired and confused to know what to do or think. In all honesty, he doesn't want to think about any of this ever again.


	3. Two

Pepper, to her credit, barely bats an eye as she tells Tony there's a mysterious (if she said _tall, dark and handsome _he didn't hear her) man upstairs waiting for him. Tony, for his part, grins and acts as though that was his plan all along, trying to ignore the implications for his security systems and mentally drafting a lecture for JARVIS. The curiosity is killing him, in all honesty, but he refuses to give in and run upstairs. Besides, weapons don't design themselves and Obie has been on at him for a few days now, so he tries to concentrate on designs and projections. He absolutely refuses to wonder about the possible motivations of a Norse god.

When he finally gets upstairs, some three hours later, Loki is quite comfortably stretched out on the couch reading a book he must have brought with him, because nothing in Tony's entire house looks as old as that. Tony takes a second to admire the view because – _damn_, those cheekbones. There's never been a jawline better designed for kissing, and that slender-yet-defined figure is stretched at just the right angle. A moment's consideration is enough, though, because there are so many answers needed. "Hey. So. You wanna explain to me again how the whole god thing works?"

"I'm not actually a god," Loki replies without so much as looking up, "Midgardians just didn't understand my people and created an explanation that worked for them. I suppose _you'd_ call me… an alien?" He looks up then, smiling slightly, and if Tony's chest tightens a little bit it's probably due to the fact he's looking at an extra-terrestrial being.

"An alien. That's um… well, it's not exactly discouraging, though you should know it's not the kind of answer that's going to stop me asking questions, you know? I really need an explanation for all of this because this just does not make sense to me, it really doesn't. I don't like things that don't make sense to me. I kind of do this thing, where I don't sleep 'til I can work it out, so if you're trying to kill me, keep saying things like that, that'll work…" he pauses, frowning, "and what the hell was that thing you did with the other you, the extra you? I need the exact specifications for that. I mean, it could be useful to me, I'm sure I could make that work for my business, but mostly that's the kind of thing that could give me nightmares, because if it's not science, then it's, what? Magic? I don't really want to think about that."

"It was magic." Loki's put down his book and is sitting up straighter, watching Tony with a genuine sense of fascination.

"No."

Loki smiles widely and there might be something slightly unsettling about it but Tony can't notice over the voice in his mind screaming about _magic_. "I'm afraid, Tony, that it was magic. I'm a… sorcerer, I suppose."

"No. It wasn't magic, because magic isn't real. This house, this is a place of science and logic and things that_ make sense_. Not – not magic. No." Tony's shaking his head, looking disconcerted.

"Interesting. You fear things you cannot understand, is that it?" Loki would, ordinarily, file that fact away to take advantage of at a later date, but finds that this time he's merely intrigued.

"I suppose that's part of it. Just don't… don't do any of that stuff, whatever it is, here, ok?"

Loki considers the request for a moment and then nods, slowly. "Agreed. With the exception of arriving and leaving, if I'm coming from Asgard. I'm afraid I rather need my magic to do that."

Tony grimaces, but shrugs. He has thousands of questions to ask, but Loki came to him, and he isn't going anywhere now Tony's started asking them. Tony figures he has time to organise his thoughts and ask all of his questions all at once, maybe scan a few things and – oh. He really needs to stop letting his thoughts run away with him, because Loki's hands are at his waist, their lips pressed together, and Tony didn't even notice the other man stand up. They're undressing each other all the way to his bed and this is bad, Tony started thinking of this guy as a friend, which means this is almost _relationship_ territory, Tony has no business getting into this. Then again, Loki looks more perfect the more breathless he becomes and his mouth is _everywhere_, it feels so good – Tony lets his eyes fall closed and tries to switch off his thoughts. It never does to dwell on things when someone's naked in your bed, after all.


	4. Three

Loki finds that he is in Asgard less after the development of his friendship on Midgard. He spends time with Thor because they're brothers, that's what they're supposed to do, isn't it? He loves his brother, despite his recklessness and vanity and quick temper. He tolerates Thor's countless flaws in the hope that one day his brother will grow up. In the meantime, he talks the six of them (for he seems to have become an essential part of Thor's little gang, now) out of the messy situations Thor gets them into. He bites his tongue and rolls his eyes as Thor takes all the credit, the glory, time and time again. This is the role of the younger prince, after all – standing in the shadow of the heir to the throne, correcting mistakes privately. It's not that he resents his brother; it's that his every action makes Loki despair, though fondly. Despite appearances, Thor listens to him, truly listens, as though Loki is all-knowing and infallible. Thor will take his brother's advice, always, when the heat of battle dies down and he is calmer. In those moments, Loki is sure he could persuade his brother to do anything, however terrible, the trust Thor has in him. He hopes that, over time, his words will teach his brother restraint. That his words will make Thor understand, think like the king he will become.

Beautiful, golden-haired Sif was a childhood friend of both princes, a natural companion now. As a child, she had played the role of witch alongside Loki as often as she had played the warrior princess to Thor's ever-victorious king. If Thor had become her favourite brother as they grew, Loki could hardly blame her. Sif was always destined to become the warrior for real, it was only right that she be drawn to Thor, the most natural fighter of all. Loki's fond of her, for the most part, though he is wary of her influence on the others.

The Warriors Three were initially her friends, but that's an easy thing to forget. Thor is instantly, naturally, everyone's friend the second he meets them. That's Thor's nature. They all follow Thor without question, which Loki finds disappointing. They tease him, but there's never a real challenge in anything said, despite personality clashes from all three. _Teasing_. That's what the five of them do, now. Loki is quick thinking and sharp tongued, he can keep up with them. What bothers him is that the words seem less friendly when they're directed at him. Fandral is the one most likely to express it, but the Three don't completely trust him, that much is obvious.

They're in training when it gets out of hand. Sif is always able to take liberties with Loki that the Three can't, she's closer to him. She benefits from the soft spot he has for her, which means she can say more with less retaliation. Their teasing arguments are friendly and warm, even though her closeness means she has more ammunition. Loki and Sif have just finished sparring, matching staffs, when Volstagg starts to make comments about Loki's inadequacy as a warrior. He scoffs, mocks in return. Fandral suggests he hasn't faced Loki because the poor baby prince wouldn't stand a chance. Loki can barely be bothered to roll his eyes at that. Sif joins in, it's comfortable, but Fandral encourages her to say more until she pushes too far. She's comparing him to Thor, wondering why the brothers never fight. There's an uncomfortable implication there. When Loki bites back an insult in return, it's laced with venom. There's no trace of their friendship left. The argument escalates, all raised voices and threats, insults designed to cut deep. Fandral edges away from them as Thor steps forward, uncertain. Sif says it outright, then. That Loki is jealous of his brother; that he will never match up to Thor in any way. She flinches as she hears the words leave her mouth. There's a pause. Loki's mouth is dry, words fail him. He hears Sif call his name as he walks away, but refuses to turn around.

When he finds Thor and the Warriors Three the next day, Thor lays a hand on his shoulder softly, briefly; nobody says a word about the argument. They talk; Thor telling of some new quest he has planned that will no doubt end in disaster. Loki doesn't look up as Sif arrives, doesn't react to the little noises of surprise his companions make, though he can feel Thor's eyes boring into him. Sif sits a little too closely to him at his side and touches his leg briefly as she whispers her apology for hurting him. Loki closes his eyes for several long moments and she leaves, moving to sit opposite him with Hogun. When he opens his eyes again, she's tucking newly-ebony hair back behind her ears and he has to swallow hard to fight the sickening guilt he feels. He joins the conversation more hesitantly than usual, aware of the disapproval radiating off his brother in waves. Sif, for her part, smiles softly at him and acts no differently than she normally would.

The Warriors Three are now more cautious in their insults to Loki. There is little difference in Hogun, but he was always one to keep his distance. Volstagg and Fandral are difficult to read, but they seem to resent him. Thor is more distant than ever before. Sif is the same as ever, but Loki can no longer look at her without acknowledging a part of himself he isn't entirely comfortable with. He tends to avoid her wherever possible. He avoids Asgard entirely for extended periods, spending more time with Tony.


	5. Four

One day, Tony goes to Afghanistan and everything changes. Tony tries not to think about how he's turning into a cyborg. He has more important things to think about, with the mild hydrophobia and the sleeplessness caused by insomnia rather than just getting caught up in his work. Then there are those horror-movie flashbacks, the guilt and the determination to hide all of this from everyone, though nobody seems to be fooled. Especially not Pepper. Caring, wonderful Pepper who hovers worriedly and asks all the right questions knowing he'll give all the wrong answers but tries anyway because that's just what she does. He just doesn't have _time_ to think about the thing in his chest, he really doesn't. Not that he really minds having technology in his chest now, basically everything in his life depends on technology anyway. The extension is logical, he supposes. It doesn't _represent _ anything, it's just keeping him alive. He's very busy right now, actually. Even if he did have time to worry about it, he wouldn't, because that's just not the kind of thing that bothers him. He's busy, anyway.

Tony absolutely doesn't have to push down waves of tension every time someone looks at it. He doesn't have to stop himself from flinching when somebody comes near it. It certainly doesn't take most of a bottle of Scotch and some slightly improvised meditation to stop shaking after Pepper has her hand _inside his fucking chest_. That's the kind of thing he can take in his stride, he's Tony Stark, things like that don't shake him up. He certainly hasn't developed a habit of tapping the thing to reassure himself of… something. He's always spent this long looking at his chest in the mirror. He's fine.

He hasn't seen Loki in so long, not since before – and there's all kind of tension within him, so he doesn't even think about the fact Loki hasn't seen it before until after they've had a weird, intense kind of sex that implies yet more things Tony won't think about. Loki's wearing an unreadable frown so Tony starts babbling, no idea even what he's saying. He knows he explains what happened, but his thoughts are so jumbled that he's sure he can't be making any kind of sense. Loki just narrows his eyes, watching, and Tony lets out this horrible shaking breath that sounds almost like a sob. "I just… honestly, I have no idea how I feel about… this," he says, gesturing to his chest.

He freezes as Loki's fingertips carefully, gently, _painfully_ slowly, reach out and brush the glowing surface of the arc reactor. They pause, just softly resting there, and Tony swallows hard. "Sometimes, it… something just… it bothers me," he grits out. If he takes a deep breath there, it's because he's confused. It isn't because Loki's hand is tracing the outside edge now, over skin more sensitive than it was before. It feels kind of nice but there's this awful vulnerable rawness to the sensitivity, too, it's overwhelming and strange. His eyes are a little watery as he raises his gaze to Loki's face. Loki's wearing this strange half-smile, lazily watching his own hand. Tony realises with a jolt that this is the first person who has looked at the arc reactor neutrally. There's no concern there, or disbelief, or calculations going on in the background. Loki is just – looking.

Maybe it's all going to be ok, Tony lets himself think, as he drifts off into his first night's sleep undisturbed by the faint blue glow in the room.


End file.
